Boston Police Officer Arrested on Manslaughter Charges
A Boston police officer was arraigned and arrested on manslaughter charges stemming from the killing of Stephenson King Jr. on March 11. King was 39 years old and experiencing a mental health crisis at the time of his death. After being admitted to a hospital, he was found the same day in an incident involving the police where officer Nicholas O’Malley shot him fatally.
King’s family is now seeking answers and justice for their loved one’s untimely killing. O’Malley is accused of shooting King three times and beating him, which he has denied. Body camera footage of the event has not yet been released by the Suffolk County District Attorney’s office despite demands from King’s family, their attorney, and the Massachusetts Division of Public Records. Boston Mayor Michelle Wu stated, “It is a matter of at what point in the legal process is that appropriate to happen, given the active investigation,” in reference to the footage being released.
The attorney representing King’s Family is no stranger to cases of similar nature. Ben Crump, an American attorney who specializes in civil rights cases, has represented many names commonly associated with racial violence cases like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Aubrey, and more. Crump’s part in this follows these previous cases where the police exhibited violence in what many consider to be a racially motivated manner.
Crump is advocating for the release of the body cam video, stating, “whether it’s released tomorrow or it’s released a year from now, it’s going to be the same video. We believe the evidence, the trajectory of the bullets where Stephenson was shot, that evidence is going to be the same today that it’s going to be in a year.”
Suffolk County District Attorney Kevin Hayden is the one holding the body cam footage, but he has pushed for O’Malley to be tried as any other individual rather than as a cop. He believes that the evidence present contradicts the statements O’Malley has given. An attorney for O’Malley, Ken Anderson, noted that this is an election year for Hayden and that pushing for O’Malley’s arrest is a co-political move. Anderson’s statement was denied by Hayden as he emphasized the fact that the case is moving forward at a normal legal speed.
